Fort Queenscliff - The Defence of Port Phillip

The Defence of Port Phillip

The defences at Queenscliff and elsewhere around Port Phillip were developed in the second half of the 19th century, to protect Melbourne and its outlying settlements from invasion by hostile foreign powers. These hostile powers were, at various times, identified as the French, the Russians and, at one stage during the American Civil War, the United States.

In particular, the Crimean War (1853–56) stimulated public concern over Victoria's defences, and after protracted discussions, reports and inquiries, Captain (later General Sir) Peter Scratchley of the British Army arrived in Victoria in 1859 to advise on the development of the Colony's coastal defences. His recommendations included a proposal to construct four large batteries of guns at the entrance to Port Phillip, and suggested Shortland Bluff as the site for one of these batteries. He also recommended the construction of an inner ring of gun batteries around Hobsons Bay to provide a more intimate protection for Melbourne.

Following the 1875-76 Royal Commission into the Volunteer Forces, the Victorian Government invited the Director of Works and Fortifications in London, Lieutenant General Sir William Jervois, to Victoria to further advise on Victoria's defences. He arrived in 1877 accompanied by the now Colonel Scratchley. Their joint report recommended that the basic defences for the Colony should be concentrated on the Heads, and consist of fortifications at the entrance to the Bay and on the shoals between the main shipping channels. Between 1879 and 1886 their recommendations were substantially actioned and the Bay defences were progressively developed.

Fort Queenscliff was developed as an enclosed battery armed with heavy-calibre cannons on Shortland's Bluff. Swan Island at the northern end of town covered the western shipping channel and was similarly fortified. Two 'island' forts, at Pope's Eye and South Channel, were to be raised on existing shoals in the Bay to cover West, Symonds and South Channels. Although the South Channel Fort was eventually built, work on Popes Eye Shoal was discontinued because improvements in ordnance meant that other forts could effectively close the shipping channels.

Torpedoes and mines were located at Swan Island and were to be laid across the shipping channels in times of war. Swan Island was permanently manned by Engineers of the Victorian Military Forces. Plans for a fixed gun battery adjacent to the signal station at Point Lonsdale did not proceed, but defences on the western side of the Bay were supplemented by mobile artillery being stationed there during both world wars. Fort Nepean, Fort Cheviot and Fort Pearce on the eastern side of the Bay were also developed and, although on a lesser scale, were similar to those at Fort Queenscliff.

By design Fort Queenscliff became the command centre for the Heads defences, probably because of its strategic location and established telegraph links with Melbourne. In recognition of its importance, a landward defensive system around the Queenscliff guns was commenced in 1882.

By 1886 Port Phillip was the most heavily fortified port in the Southern Hemisphere. Over the next fifty years, the Bay Forts were manned, and both Fort Nepean and Fort Queenscliff were fully operational during both World Wars. In 1946 Fort Queenscliff ceased to be a coastal artillery station.